Circuit is a state of mind
Circuit is a state of mind. A simile, an allegory.
What matters is where I had been, what I did, whom I met… and most importantly why I did all this. A pertinent question, indeed. More pertinent when I shivered in the cold wave of El Arish, or when I felt lonely in the festivities of Dahab. Couldn’t I have snuggled in the warmth of a quilt in Cairo…? Couldn’t I have relished a cup of warm tea and more than a cupful of companionship that my friends offer me, everyday? Technically, it makes sense. But logic is a passé.
I have no answers… I did what I felt like… Answers lie perhaps in the experiences I underwent in the obscurity of Egyptian heartland. In the effervescence of Cleopatra Bath in Siwa, in the warm sunrays of Port Said… in the loneliness ponderings of El Arish… in the wading of the seas in Dahab… in the strange surrounding of El Tor… and in the terror prone (sic) heartland of Middle Egypt.
But first the circuit that was not to be.
Day One: Reaching Marsa Matrouh, spending few hours in a road side Ahwa, taking a bus to Siwa, reaching Siwa, site seeing in Siwa.
Day Two: Trying to find a way to Baharriya, meeting disappointment, back to Marsa Matrouh, taking a bus to Alexandria, having a dinner in a roadside joint at Alexandria, taking a Microbus to Port Said.
Day Three: Reaching Port Said, visiting Port Fouad, walking down the corniche of Port Said, taking a bus to Qantara, taking a microbus to El Arish, reaching El Arish.
Day Four: Visit to El Arish Zoo, Garnata beach, a quick visit to Rafah border, taking a Peugeot service to Ismailiyya, touring around Ismailiyya, taking a bus to Dahab.
Day Five: Reaching Dahab, strolling around the city, participating in the festivities of Christmas.
Day Six: Taking a lift to El Tor, taking a bus to Qena.
Day Seven: Reaching Qena, visiting Dendera, reaching Al Balyana and seeing Abydos, reaching Sohag and seeing Red and White Monasteries, reaching Assiyut and taking a bus back to Cairo.
If one looks at the map of Egypt… he will realize that it was not a circuit. It could have been… if only I had found some people going to Baharriya… but sadly I couldn’t.
If one looks at my earlier post… the trip was meant to be 11 days… I got a leave of 9 days (actually I applied for 9 only, lest I may need some breathing space to go to Turkey for a brief visit)… I toured around for only 7 days. Why?
When I was going towards Assiyut… I received a phone call from India that my grandmother was unwell and in an ICU… then I received the bad news that former Pakistani PM has been shot dead… I was shattered by both the news… and said to myself, that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy myself in such a scenario. I chose to come back.
Now what remains?
Practically I have covered the entire Egypt… some wee bit remain… Abu Simble and a few sites in Aswan, Basata and Assiyut-Baris circuit. First two will definitely be done… am not sure about the third.
What matters is where I had been, what I did, whom I met… and most importantly why I did all this. A pertinent question, indeed. More pertinent when I shivered in the cold wave of El Arish, or when I felt lonely in the festivities of Dahab. Couldn’t I have snuggled in the warmth of a quilt in Cairo…? Couldn’t I have relished a cup of warm tea and more than a cupful of companionship that my friends offer me, everyday? Technically, it makes sense. But logic is a passé.
I have no answers… I did what I felt like… Answers lie perhaps in the experiences I underwent in the obscurity of Egyptian heartland. In the effervescence of Cleopatra Bath in Siwa, in the warm sunrays of Port Said… in the loneliness ponderings of El Arish… in the wading of the seas in Dahab… in the strange surrounding of El Tor… and in the terror prone (sic) heartland of Middle Egypt.
But first the circuit that was not to be.
Day One: Reaching Marsa Matrouh, spending few hours in a road side Ahwa, taking a bus to Siwa, reaching Siwa, site seeing in Siwa.
Day Two: Trying to find a way to Baharriya, meeting disappointment, back to Marsa Matrouh, taking a bus to Alexandria, having a dinner in a roadside joint at Alexandria, taking a Microbus to Port Said.
Day Three: Reaching Port Said, visiting Port Fouad, walking down the corniche of Port Said, taking a bus to Qantara, taking a microbus to El Arish, reaching El Arish.
Day Four: Visit to El Arish Zoo, Garnata beach, a quick visit to Rafah border, taking a Peugeot service to Ismailiyya, touring around Ismailiyya, taking a bus to Dahab.
Day Five: Reaching Dahab, strolling around the city, participating in the festivities of Christmas.
Day Six: Taking a lift to El Tor, taking a bus to Qena.
Day Seven: Reaching Qena, visiting Dendera, reaching Al Balyana and seeing Abydos, reaching Sohag and seeing Red and White Monasteries, reaching Assiyut and taking a bus back to Cairo.
If one looks at the map of Egypt… he will realize that it was not a circuit. It could have been… if only I had found some people going to Baharriya… but sadly I couldn’t.
If one looks at my earlier post… the trip was meant to be 11 days… I got a leave of 9 days (actually I applied for 9 only, lest I may need some breathing space to go to Turkey for a brief visit)… I toured around for only 7 days. Why?
When I was going towards Assiyut… I received a phone call from India that my grandmother was unwell and in an ICU… then I received the bad news that former Pakistani PM has been shot dead… I was shattered by both the news… and said to myself, that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy myself in such a scenario. I chose to come back.
Now what remains?
Practically I have covered the entire Egypt… some wee bit remain… Abu Simble and a few sites in Aswan, Basata and Assiyut-Baris circuit. First two will definitely be done… am not sure about the third.
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